Contents

Biography

Walter (Beauchamp) de Beauchamp of Elmley, Sheriff of Worcestershire

Steward of the Household of King Edward I, Constable of Gloucester Castle.

Son of William III Beauchamp and Joan Isabel Mauduit

(Earl William was said to be between the ages of 26 and 30 in 1268, placing the marriage of William and Isabel in the late 1230s or early 1240s. William of Elmley and Isabel Mauduit had produced at least seven children. Of the three sons, all of them were to found important branches of the family which survived into the fifteenth century. William was the eldest of the three, and not only inherited the earldom, but also most of the Beauchamp estates that had been built up in the past 150 years. However, generous endowments were given to the two younger sons, Walter and John: John began the line of the Beauchamps of Holt, who were based in the Severn valley, north of Worcester, and Walter was granted lands in south-west Warwickshire).

Giles, Lord of Alcester b: Beauchamps Court, Warwick, d: 12 Oct 1361, Acton Beauchamp, Bromyard, Worcestershire, m before 21 May 1329, Katherine de Bures, daughter of John and Hawise (de Muscegros) (de Ferreres) de Bures, who was born about 1316, and died after Oct 1355.

Note

(Note [by Douglas Richardson]: Roger de Beauchamp is typically identified in print as the son of Giles de Beauchamp, Knt., of Alcester and Powick. This parentage is not possible, as Giles and Roger are known to have been contemporaries to one another. Roger's will dated 1379 states that he was "bound to do a service on the Infidels, by devise of my grandsire, Sir Walter Beauchamp, to the expense of 200 marks." [Reference: Nicolas, Testamenta Vetusta, 1 (1826): 103-104]. The name Walter de Beauchamp is evidently a scribal error. Rather, Roger's grandfather appears to have been William de Beauchamp, whose 1269 will left a bequest (or devise) of 200 marks to his son, Walter, for the purpose of making a piligrimage [Reference: N.H. Nicolas, Testamenta Vestusta, 1 (1826): 50-51]. Identifying Roger as Walter's son and William's grandson fits the known chronology of this family. It also agrees with the 1566 Visitation of Bedfordshire cited below which records Roger as Walter's son and William's grandson.)

Brother of William VI Beauchamp, William IV Warwick, Joan de Sudeley, John de Beauchamp, Thomas de Beauchamp, Sybil de Beauchamp, Sarah Talbot, Margaret Beauchamp and Isabel Beauchamp

Beauchamps's Court in Alcester, co. Warwick, and of Powick, co. Worcester, Steward of the household of Edward I, King of England.

Background

Walter was granted lands in south-west Warwickshire. The Beauchamps, throughout our period, were well known for their military accomplishments: William of Elmley had fought in Scotland and Wales, and all three of his sons appear to have followed in the family's martial tradition. William proved himself on the battlefields of Scotland and Wales; Walter, it would appear, had an ambition to go on a crusade. His father's will describes him as a ‘crusader’, and William left his son a debt of 200 marks in aid ‘of his pilgrimage to the Holy Land for me and his mother’.

By the late 1290s he was calling himself the ‘lord of Alcester’, having purchased, in 1271-72, the moiety of the manor of Alcester in Warwickshire, making that place one of his principal seats, alongside Powick in Worcestershire. Walter was also to follow in the family's tradition of administrative service; in Prestwich's words he was ‘well schooled in the established tradition of the household’ and was a highly suitable choice for the post of steward of the royal household, an appointment which suited both his bureaucratic and military skills. Walter was appointed as steward in 1289, became sole steward in 1292, and held this position until his death in early 1303.
He served with the king in Flanders and Scotland, fighting alongside Edward in the battle of Falkirk and appears to have been a man much admired for his military prowess, but criticised for his arrogance; the Song of Caerlaverock describes Walter as ‘a knight who would have been one of the best of all, according to my opinion, if he had not been too proud and rashly insolent, but you won't hear anyone talk of the steward without a "but"’.

IMPORTANT PRIVACY NOTICE & DISCLAIMER: YOU HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO USE CAUTION WHEN DISTRIBUTING PRIVATE INFORMATION. WIKITREE PROTECTS MOST SENSITIVE INFORMATION BUT ONLY TO THE EXTENT STATED IN THE TERMS OF SERVICE AND PRIVACY POLICY.